Brent Spence Bridge

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The Brent Spence Bridge is a double decker cantilever truss bridge that carries Interstates 71 and 75 between Cincinnati, Ohio and Northern Kentucky. It opened in November 1963, carrying three lanes of vehicular traffic in each direction across the Ohio River. In 1986, the emergency shoulders were eliminated, and the bridge was restriped with four lanes in each direction. Despite this attempt, the bridge is still overwhelmed with traffic, and is one of the most dangerous sections of highway in the United States. It is currently over-trafficked by 30,000 cars per day. It was also designated "functionally obsolete."^{[citation needed]}

The Brent Spence Bridge is in the foreground viewed from the Kentucky side.

The Brent Spence Bridge is the furthest bridge to the right as viewed from downtown Cincinnati.

The bridge was named for Kentucky's longest serving congressman at the time, Brent Spence, who served in the U.S. Congress for over thirty years before retiring in 1962. The bridge, which opened a year after his retirement, was named in his honor by then Kentucky governor Bert T. Combs. Spence didn't feel that he deserved the honor, and lobbied for the Bridge to be named for President Kennedy (who had been assassinated only three days before the bridge was supposed to open). Combs, however, resisted this effort at modesty by Spence and kept the name.

1 Replacement
2 Trivia
3 See also
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Replacement

A study is currently underway to investigate the replacement and/or rehabilitation of the bridge. One proposal includes reusing the current bridge for I-71 traffic while building a new bridge for I-75 downstream. Others include building a new bridge to carry both interstates, either at the current location or downstream. If the current bridge is not rehabilitated for interstate traffic, it will either be demolished or rehabilitated for local street traffic.

Cincinnati City Council supports alternative #4, which involves building a new bridge to carry both interstates at the current location, and demolishing the Brent Spence Bridge.^[1]

[edit] Trivia

From 1967 until 1977, the spectacular approach from the Brent Spence Bridge looking toward downtown Cincinnati was featured in the opening title sequence of the long running daytime Soap Opera, The Edge of Night.